Jim Parsons To Star In Movie Based On Real-Life Viral Phenomenon ‘Brother Orange’

Back in 2014, Buzzfeed editor Matt Stopera had his iPhone stolen. Unbeknownst to him until odd pictures began to show up in his photo feed a little while later, his device had ended up in China. He went on a hunt to find the man in the pictures, who was seen posing somewhat ominously in front of some orange trees. When fans in China found out about his story, they tracked down the mysterious man and arranged a meeting in their home country. Stopera quickly discovered he was a celebrity in the huge nation, his image and story having traveled far through the country’s version of Twitter, Weibo. When he documented his experiences for Buzzfeed in 2015, his story went viral.

Now, it’s going to be a motion picture, with Jim Parsons in the starring role as Stopera, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As if the story itself doesn’t already have enough feel-good emotion behind it, Ellen DeGeneres is going to be one of the executive producers. After Stopera met Li Hongjun, also known as “Brother Orange” — a term of endearment given to him by the Chinese media — the two appeared together on Ellen. The film is said to be called Brother Orange.

Parsons’ production company, That’s Wonderful Productions, will collaborate with BuzzFeed Motion Pictures and Warner Bros. on the project. Variety reported that Stopera’s original story got 100 million international shares, turning him into a bit of a celebrity at home as well as overseas.

While Brother Orange is still in the works, Parsons has a new movie set for release in December, Hidden Figures. Given that the movie is about the early days at NASA, it’s keeping with his Big Bang Theory character, who is a scientist interested in space. Hidden Figures focuses on some unsung heroes in NASA history — African-American women who were instrumental in the agency’s work during the 1960s.

According to Space.com, which got an early look at the Hidden Figures set this past Spring, Parsons plays a fictional engineer named Paul Stafford. The actor said the story is an important one to be told, as it covers many monumental issues in U.S. history — not just space exploration but racial equality and the rights of women.

“[This is] a movie that is very much on the surface about the early years of NASA and getting a man into space. And it highlights three people who, because they were women and because they were African American, didn’t get the credit they deserved for their input or contribution to this. So really, what we’re doing here is a civil-rights-slash-feminist movie — and that’s what’s so wonderful about being here, and so exciting to be a part of.”

At the time, the women, who were hired as “computers,” or as people who compute — technology had not advanced far enough yet for the electronic variety — worked in segregated wings at NASA. As Deadline reported, the trio of women is played by some heavy hitters: Janelle Monae, Octavia Spencer and Taraji P. Henson.

As for Brother Orange, an earlier Hollywood Reporter post said the film will adapt Stopera and Li’s story into one of an accidental friendship. In Stopera’s chronicle on Buzzfeed of his time in China, he wrote about developing a bond with the man who shared his fame. The pair usually spoke through translators but Stopera felt welcomed into Li’s home and family.

What happened when Brother Orange came to America is almost as crazy as the rest of this story http://t.co/bYjqR5buBc pic.twitter.com/gOg1tqRbVJ

— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) May 21, 2015

While fans of Jim Parsons are waiting for him to hit the big screen, they can keep up with his antics as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory Thursday nights at 8 pm on CBS.

[Featured Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images]